Word: nabil
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...intrigued by one candidate whose name has been floated for the new post: reformist Finance Minister Salam Fayyad, who has tackled Palestinian Authority corruption. Israeli officials are less optimistic. They regard Arafat's announcement as a ruse, and tell TIME that another name on the short list is Nabil Shaath, who is closely tied to Arafat. Both the U.S. and the Israelis will be happy enough if regional tensions keep the pressure on Arafat to reform. --By Massimo Calabresi and Matt Rees
...Nabil Saqqar used to hate Saddam Hussein. The 19-year-old Jordanian undergrad has friends who live in Baghdad, and has heard plenty of horror stories about the Iraqi dictator's repressive regime. He recounts some of them for my benefit as we wait in a queue at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Amman. (I'll skip the gory details: suffice it to say that they put me off dinner.) But recently, Nabil's been reassessing Saddam, seeing him in a new light. "You have to admire the fact that, unlike the West, he has consistently stuck to his principles...
...Nabil, Sonia and Tamara don't belong to that crowd. These young people don't hate the U.S. They don't feel threatened by American culture, they embrace it. Sonia likes parties, rock 'n' roll music and never misses an episode of Friends. Tamara is partial to Hollywood blockbusters, particularly those starring Bruce Willis or Sandra Bullock. Nabil affects a faux New York accent to go with his fading 501s and Tommy Hilfiger jacket, and says he is in love with "that tough girl on TV - Buffy...
...Saddam's supporters among the Arab ?lite are starry-eyed kids like Nabil, Sonia and Tamara. Toujan Faisal is a seasoned political campaigner. As a member of the Jordanian Parliament in the mid-'90s, she stood out for her strong views on women's issues - and for her fashion sense. At a time when Islamist lawmakers were advocating traditional Arab dress for women, she defiantly wore short skirts to Parliament. These days, she is an outspoken advocate of democracy for Arab nations. "The old-style Arab regimes don't like my frankness," she says, defiantly. "But I represent modernity...
...Nabil would never put a Saddam Hussein poster in his bedroom: that would be way uncool for a hip teenager. But not long ago, he'd have thought it uncool even to praise Saddam. "Among my friends, talking about politics was considered stupid, a waste of time," he says. "But now everybody talks about Saddam, and we all think he's tough." Tough like Buffy? "Yeah," Nabil laughs. "Tough like Buffy." Only in this case, it's the vampire he admires, not the slayer...